The Daily Blast – March 25, 2013

byJohn Eby|March 25, 2013at06:39 AM

Sign Of Things To Come – In summing up last night’s game in the Daily Dime, Andrew McNeill from 48 Minutes of Hell indicates he wants some more Spurs-Rockets action:

That was … what I’d like to see from a first-round playoff matchup: We’re still weeks away from the playoffs starting, but there’s a chance the Spurs and Rockets could end up as opponents in either a 1-vs-8 or 2-vs-7 series. Either way, it would be a fun best-of-seven matchup thanks to each team’s style of play.

I don’t care who the Rockets play in the postseason, as long as they make it there and avoid last year’s collapse. Still, a Spurs-Rockets series will be a rivalry from Game 1.

Safer – Last night’s win paired with Utah’s loss to Dallas bumped the Rockets up to having a 99.3 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Hollinger’s Playoff Odds. I’m still not breathing.

Doin’ Work – The Houston Chronicle’s premium site had a long piece on Thomas Robinson on Friday. It detailed his work with the coaching staff on improving his game. Assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff has the most encouraging line about Big Brother’s future:

“The first thing and the most important thing is he is a very willing worker,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s always in the gym. He’s always early. And he’s always willing to work. That’s the most important thing, because when he got here, we didn’t know him. The environment in Sacramento is different. You don’t know what you’re getting, but he wants to get in the gym and to get better.”

Freak athleticism plus a great work ethic is as close to a foolproof formula for success as you can find in the NBA. In 10 minute last night, Robinson grabbed 4 boards, played solid defense, and missed two cringe-worthy jumpshots. His biggest problems, shot selection and turnovers, are also the easiest to fix.

Never Let Go – Matt Stephens at the Dream Shake is feeling all McKayla Maroney about the Heat’s 26 game win streak. He still thinks the Rockets’ 22 game streak was better:

Then adversity struck. After the 12th win, a 110-97 victory in which Yao struggled, it was announced Yao had a stress fracture in his left foot which would sideline him the rest of the season, a devastating blow which should have derailed the Rockets’ streak, but somehow didn’t. A 41-year-old Dikembe Mutombo and 6’6″ Chuck Hayes stepped into the paint to replace Yao’s defense and others stepped up to replace his offensive production, helping the Rockets win 10 more games without their best player.

This is a valid point. If you don’t think the (justified) hype about the Heat’s streak could get bigger, imagine if they were doing in the Western Conference while LeBron was out with an injury?

Tweet That – When an athlete gives credit to a higher power, you can bet he just did something awesome on the court.

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Red94 is a blog about the NBA's Houston Rockets. It was created in 2009 by Rahat Huq and inducted into ESPN.com's TrueHoop Network that same year. Follow @redninetyfour on Twitter for all new post updates.